ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Primetime matchup against a marquee foe? No problem for this veteran New Mexico squad.
Behind double-digit kills from three of its senior pinhitters, the University of New Mexico volleyball team registered a thrilling 3-1 win over Arizona State Friday night to improve to 2-0 after the first day of the 2016 season.
Local New Mexico products Cassie House (17 kills), Julia Warren (14 kills) and Devanne Sours (12 kills) all led the Lobos in Johnson Center, powering the Lobos (2-0) to a 25-23, 21-25, 29-27, 25-20 triumph over the Sun Devils (1-1).
“I’m really proud of them, because I think we battled tonight as well as we have in four or five years,” 10th-year New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said.
The Lobos notched their first home win over a Power 5 opponent since topping Georgia Tech in 2013, and did it in style, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead before rallying in set three en route to winning in four sets.
“We’re playing a Pac-12 school,” Nelson said, “and they’re really good. They were as high as fourth in the [national] rankings last year, and those teams know how to compete because it’s a great volleyball conference.”
But the Lobos also proved themselves, moving to 2-0 on the season for the second straight season after beating Abilene Christian 3-0 in the early afternoon match Friday.
Although the Lobos’ outside hitters lit up the scoreboard, New Mexico parlayed a strong team effort to its victory in front of an announced crowd of 1,851 fans.
Carson Heilborn (24 assists) and Lise Rugland (23 assists) successfully divvied up the setting duties for UNM, helping key strong statistical performances from House (.316 hitting percentage) and Warren (.212).
“I was really proud of Carson and Lise tonight because they were really nervous — first time in a really big match and neither of them had started before — and I think they really came through tonight and both of them had a big match for us,” Nelson said.
The showings from the setter position paced New Mexico’s offensive attack, as the Lobos finished hitting .187 as a team (55 kills, 27 errors, 150 attacks).
Warren, the Lobos’ captain, put together a solid all-around game, tallying eight digs, two blocks and two service aces to go along with her 14 kills.
“Regardless of her statistics, she just leads the team out there,” Nelson said. “She’s aggressive, she passes half the balls and made some big digs. She was awesome from the serving line tonight for us, just showing great leadership.”
Defensively, Ashley Kelsey helmed the Lobos’ libero position to the tune of 23 digs, while Sours notched the team’s first double-double of the year with 10 digs on top of her dozen kills.
“Kelsey really came through for us in three and four,” Nelson said. “I really got after her at halftime because we didn’t feel like she was playing like she should, we challenged her to get in there and play a bigger role and put some better numbers. And she had some big plays for us.”
Middle blocker Victoria Spragg also had a standout match, stuffing seven total blocks.
Overall, New Mexico won the defensive battle, out-blocking (11.0 to 8.0) and out-digging (58 to 55) the Sun Devils. ASU did manage two more kills (57-55) and five more assists (56-51), but were done in by errors, totalling 11 service errors, six receipt errors and three blocking errors.
Arizona State hit .179 on the match (57k, 28e, 162a).
The first set started closely, with neither team exerting much a lead early. The Lobos scratched out a 15-13 lead at the first-set media timeout, but the Sun Devils knotted the score back up at 16. Eventually, UNM took a 19-16 lead and scored six of the last 10 points to win set one 25-23.
New Mexico was buoyed by a balanced attack in set one, as Sours, Warren, Spragg, House and Mariessa Carrasco all posted at least two kills.
Set two was also a tight affair, and mirrored the first frame as UNM claimed a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. However, Arizona State cashed in on a number of Lobo errors to seize a 22-19 lead that it would not relinquish.
Although New Mexico made it a one-point score late at 21-22, ASU scored the final three points to earn a 25-21 win. There were 14 ties in set two.
“At the end of game two we just made some discipline breakdowns,” Nelson said. “… At the end of game two it broke down, and I got on them in the locker room to played a little more disciplined.”
And the Lobos did come out with some more discipline early in the third stanza. But Arizona State erased an early 7-4 UNM lead, moving in front 18-14 and then 22-19.
However, New Mexico refused to yield, scoring four straight points to get within one at 22-23. ASU had its chances to close out the set, but the Lobos’ momentum proved to be too much. UNM staved off four set points, clinching the set 29-27 after a set-winning 3-0 run.
“To come back from a deficit in a match like that and trust and fight with one another was great,” House said.
With momentum well in hand, the Lobos largely cruised in the fourth set, opening up a 7-1 lead. Arizona State would get to within three points a couple of times, but couldn’t overcome New Mexico as UNM won the final set 25-20.
The Lobos return to action on Saturday, facing Idaho (2-0) at 12:30 p.m. MT and Fairfield (0-2) at 6 p.m.
NOTES: UNM is 2-0 in back-to-back years for the first time since 2009 and 2010 — the last two years the Lobos made the NCAA Tournament … After starting 0-21 all-time against Arizona State, New Mexico has won the last two meetings, including a 3-2 win in Tempe in 2007 … The 29 points scored by New Mexico in set three is tied for the fourth-most points scored by UNM in a set to 25 points.